alabama. >> there it is. >> reporter: joe michael pulled out his cell phone to record the twister while miles away it destroyed a church, homes and his son's high school. >> that band room is almost destroyed. the fieldhouse is gone. all the portable classrooms are gone. >> reporter: near houston a tornado destroyed some buildings and tore down power lines. francis lowe and her husband couldn't get away in time. >> we tried to leave at first and couldn't because the truck was off the ground. it wouldn't go. then finally it touched the ground and we took off. >> reporter: and damage from a tornado in pearl river, mississippi, stretched a mile wide and 8 people were taken to the hospital. ted williams' family was home celebrating christmas when the twister hit. >> hunkered down in the laundry room. >> reporter: further north, snow and ice covered oklahoma roads. >> i have chains on probably the only one, driving around going 5 miles an hour. >> reporter: the storm is picking up steam as it heads to

arkansas and into the midwest. >> within those warning areas, blizzard conditions are expected over the next 24 hours or so. >> reporter: tomorrow, there could be up to a foot of snow in many parts of new england. edward lawrence for cbs news, washington. >> airlines have already canceled 5,000 flights this week because of the weather. even more cancellations are expected over the next couple of days. there are already significant delays this morning at indianapolis and dayton, ohio. the nation's airports are expected to be busy once again today as people start heading home after their christmas gatherings. it's wise to check your airline first to check flight status. heavy rain meant worries for people on the peninsula preparing for more flooding along the san fransesquito creek. crews from the city and california conservation corps spent a lot of christmas stacking sandbags on the levee to keep the creek out of

gardens neighborhood. there's already been some flooding from ver buena verbena drive to areas in the neighborhood. it made for a less than happy christmas. >> kids didn't wake up in the morning thinking they have to help their parents clean up the yards and cars. >> people were evacuated from one unsafe home because water got into the electrical outlets. east palo alto is working on a long-term solution to the flooding. the storm has dumped a lot of snow in the sierra. not everyone felt like fighting the traffic and chain controls to get up there. some bay area families decided to head out right after opening their presents and play in the first snow they found. >> 6:00 in the morning got all our stuff and food and came out

at 9:00. >> looks like fun. there's more snow than usual this winter. the california department of water resources said there's been 140% increase in this year's snowpack. remember, you can track the storm yourself anytime with our live high-def doppler radar at our website, cbssf.com/weather. well, we're less than a week away from the so-called "fiscal cliff." the pressure is increasing in washington. senate majority leader harry reid was reportedly on capitol hill at christmas working on a scaled-down plan to avoid tax hikes for all but the wealthiest americans. his plan would also include short-term spending cuts instead of long-term deals that have been sought. president obama will cut short his hawaiian vacation around return to washington today to take part in those negotiations. christmas day the president and first lady met with servicemembers and families. the president told marines he was grateful for their service and posed for pictures. more bay area headlines.

one of santa's helpers put in a little overtime on christmas but instead of a sleigh and reindeer, san jose postal worker nancy ray used this a mail truck. ray is carrying on a decades old tradition of delivering packages to people on christmas. this is the third year ray has put her sant suit. she started working in the san jose post office 20 years ago and said this is a job she always wanted. >> some books, two things of presents. >> a relatively new christmas tradition continues in richmond as hundreds showed up at the community center. volunteers handed out food, presents and warm clothes to the city's less fortunate. the program known as christmas in richmond was started back in 2005 by a college student. time now 4:35. let's check the weather. we're trying to figure out

which camera to go to. >> no, it's right over there. >> weather-wise we're still wet out there. if you like yesterday you'll like today as well. showers are continuing. we have an unstable air mass over the bay area. you can see it on our hi-def doppler this morning. at times we could get heavier showers but grab your umbrella. you will need it once again today. the rain will not be quite as heavy as yesterday. but yeah, the showers continue until evening and it looks like right now the heavier cells are moving over the north bay, one moving towards hercules. it's going to be a chilly breezy day all across the bay area. so here's a live look one of our cameras on our roof and you can see how moist it is out there. temperatures chilly. 48 degrees in oakland. this afternoon low to mid-50s. bundle up. in the meantime, yesterday's rain and the overnight rain still causing problems on the road. check this out a stretch of highway 121 is closed now near highway 12 in sonoma county.

and we have a traffic map to show you for this so i can show that you closure. it's been in effect since, gosh, i guess last night when the closure -- it's still in effect according to caltrans. both directions of 121 and highway 12. grab your chains if you are heading towards the sierra. this is a live look at 80 near truckee. chains are required this morning at 80, 50 and 88. and a quick look outside traffic volume extra light so far this morning but golden gate bridge a little slick heading into san francisco. traffic and weather. the christmas break from shopping is now over. >> people are heading back to the malls for more holiday sales this morning. are you going? >> well, no. [ laughter ] >> but cbs 5 reporter cate caugiran has in san leandro where at least one store is opening -- you're kidding, thisser a opening at 5:00? >> reporter: that's right. if you wanted me to make any returns, you should have asked. some stores at bay fair in san leandro will open at 5 a.m.

for shoppers to second-guess santa's selection. the day after christmas is typically known as the big gift return day not to mention another day of big deals. according to shopper track, last year shoppers spent $7.1 billion the day after christmas and that's a 25.5% increase from the year before. experts are predicting the after-christmas sales will look similar to black friday complete with early hours and door buster specials. and according to a 2011 consumer reports poll nearly one in 7 adults returns a christmas gift. other shops are opening earlier, as well. the hillsdale shopping center,er is monty center, the streets of brentwood, serramonte and the bay street shopping center will be opening a little earlier and some of them will be stake open a little later to accommodate shop -- will be staying open a little later to accommodate shoppers. live in san leandro, cate caugiran, cbs 5. >> what did you get? that's the question cbs 5

reporter jennifer bistro asked some kids. >> >> reporter: the weather outside was kind of frightful but the gift wrap ripping, well, you get the idea. as i went door to door in this coastal town lots of creatures were stirring, and it was pretty clear santa had been around. what did you get? [ laughter ] >> garfield! >> reporter: not every kid's dream gift but santa delivered some cool stuff this christmas. >> i got a red sled and a skim board and skateboard, some santa claus outfit with the hat. >> reporter: are you practicing for something, extreme sports perhaps? >> not yet. [ laughter ] >> too little. >> reporter: kids of all ages

got into the act. >> happy? >> very. gorgeous. beautiful. >> reporter: he was stoked. even though it looked like his new board had been attacked. >> i lost my balance and i fell down the last few stairs with the surfboard falling behind me. so he gets a broken surfboard for christmas. >> and i can say a sharp attacked me. better than falling down the steps. >> reporter: that is how we roll out here on the coast. as these folks say. >> merry christmas. >> reporter: it's a good life. but we don't want to boast. [ dog barks ] >> reporter: in pacifica, jennifer mistrot, cbs 5. >> what did you get for the holidays that you didn't want? the ungrateful email. comment on facebook or twitter, or email us at mornings@cbs5.com. >> there's always one gift, right? >> that is true. but the great thing is to win the academy award for fainting. oh, just what i wanted!

a bay area family and giving. how the kindness of strangers helped save the family's injured dog. >> this is a very, very potentially poisonous material. >> cosmetic concerns. the warning about potentially bad botox. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

ward. nurses dress up newborn babies in stockings every hand made christmas stockings warm up a special delivery inside this maternity ward. take a look, how cute they are! nurses dressed up newborns in stockings every holiday season. this is at st. luke's hospital in missouri. the hospital says it creates a warm welcoming environment for families . that's one stocking stuffer! that would be a surprise to see hanging over the fireplace. >> no kidding! >> you don't want to hang that over the fireplace. >> probably not. volunteers at glide memorial will be heading back into the kitchen this morning.

they are preparing meals for their day after christmas practice. yesterday, volunteers served christmas meals to more than 5,000 people including turkey, gravy and the trimmings. they are a symbol of home for many in the tenderloin year round. >> we ought to love people enough so that people will understand that all of us together make it happen. but if we are separated and isolated, we can't make it together. >> glide has served the tenderloin community with free meals and services for more than 30 years. the church depends on donations to make the work possible. country pop star taylor swift takes the number one spot for most charitable celeb of 2012. dosomething.org just released its celebs gone good list. swift jumped from 20th last year after donating $4 million to the country hall of fame museum. rounding out the top 4 in this year's list, miley cyrus,

channing tatum and lady gaga. >> good for them. 4:44. >> time to check showers. >> the rain continues all across the bay area. it's not over yet. we have scattered showers across the bay area. high-def doppler radar showing it to you that yellow and green out there. looks like cell moving over parts of san francisco. most of the rain moving over the north bay moving into mill valley towards berkeley right now where you see this yellow cell there hovering over the bay. showers tapering off by evening and then a short dry break. looks like for at least a day. so cold front continues to move farther inland. we still have this unstable air behind it. carry the umbrella and once again we are expecting some breezy conditions to continue into the afternoon.

yesterday we got 1.5" in some plays today more just scattered showers but it's going to remain wet and unstable until about 9:00 tomorrow and then you see things start to close out overnight. 2 feet of snow in some parts of tahoe, gusty winds in the last 24 hours with the storm system yesterday. low to mid-50s for the most part. 54 in concord, 53 in livermore. rain continues into today dry break by thursday and then another system friday into saturday morning not as much rain as yesterda and today. still wet. sunday, monday, tuesday for new year's eve and new year's day we dry out. we're talk traffic right now and if you are heading out towards the sierra, there are chain requirements in effect and here's a live look at the

bay bridge toll plaza. you can see it is still slick this morning but we are not expecting a full volume of traffic. of course a lot of people have today off the day after christmas as well so no metering lights. looks good into san francisco. 101 both directions, headlights southbound so north- and southbound 101 in the clear. flooding still a concern in parts of sonoma county 121 shut down at highway 12 has been since overnight. and we'll show you a quick live look at a couple of more traffic cameras milpitas in the clear at top speeds and golden gate bridge flowing nicely towards san francisco. that is traffic and weather. back to you guys. >> thank you. pg&e crews are trying to figure out what was behind an underground explosion in san francisco that sent a manhole cover flying last night. it happened on the corner of third and mission. nobody was hurt.

the underground explosions aren't unusual in the city. and aging infrastructure is usually to blame. he wanted to burn down the entire named. that's what william spengler, who shot and killed two firefighters near rochester, new york, said in a note he left behind. the most chilling part of the note, the part where he wrote about his desire to, quote, do what i like doing best, killing people. the 62-year-old did not say why. >> motive assaults burning question and i'm not sure we'll ever have -- we'll never know what was going through his mind. >> a body found in spengler's burned home is believed to be that of his sister. meanwhile, people are now being allowed back into their homes near those that burned in the deadly fire christmas eve. you think it's bad here? storms led to a number of rescue operations in malaysia. more than 13,000 people were evacuated from the country's east coast today as monsoonal rain hit the region. at least one death is reported more than 6500 people have had

to flee their homes. they have nearly 200 relief centers available to help the evacuees. and the world's longest high-speed rail line is now open for business in china. the first trip was this morning as passengers boarded a train in bay bridge. the line is 1,428 miles long ending in the southern city of [ non-english language ] the city takes 8 hours compared with the more than 20 hours for the previous system some encouraging news on child obesity. the problem appears to be easing among small children in poor families. the centers for disease control followed 27 million children between the ages of 2 and 4 from 1998 to 2010 and the rate of obesity decreased from 15 to in3 to 14.9%. extreme obesity went down by 2%. a new study suggests there may be a genetic component to how children feel pain.

researchers at geneva university in switzerland analyzed the dna of 168 kids recovering from major surgery. well, the young patients with a certain gene variant felt more pain. a warning this morning about a popular cosmetic medicine. the food and drug administration is warning hundreds of medical practices that botox they have could be bad. cbs reporter amber lee explains how patients can make sure they are getting the real thing. >> reporter: it's a drug that works wonders. botox used for a variety of medical reasons. the most popular use of botox is to help temporarily stop the aging process. but now the food and drug administration is warning 350 medical practices that the botox they have could be bad. >> this is very disconcerting on many levels. >> reporter: the fda says the medical offices bought botox from a canadian supplier and it could be unsafe because it's not fda-approved. a letter was sent to the

doctors saying, the fda is very concerned that products distributed by the suppliers may cause harm to patients because they may be unsafe or ineffective. for peter, a century city plastic surgeon and expert on botox, he says using nonfda- approved injectibles can be dangerous. >> very specifically when it comes to botox, this is a very, very potentially poisonous material. use it in tiny doses on patients. but it's an agent used in chemical warfare and it can permanently paralyze you. >> reporter: he says he is shocked and saddened to hear there's a large list of medical offices buying botox through a non--approved fda sort. >> my advice to be very cautious maybe even confront the physician and say, you know, this is my understanding that you might be getting medication from a source that's not fda-approved. can you talk to me about it?

>> that was amber lee reporting. doctors say patients can request to see the bottle and the box that the botox was drawn from during their appointments. the fda will continue to investigate doctors who purchase unapproved medications. it's now 9 minutes before hour of 5:00. next it's the one holiday gift you don't want to return. where lady luck smiled on some lottery players. >> waddling his way to freedom, the christmas eve sendoff. ,,,,,,,,

here's a live look at our exclusive high-def doppler radar. a cell moving out of san francisco towards the east bay. and it's gotten some slick conditions on the roads. if you are about to head off to work this morning, here's a live look at some of our traffic cameras. so far, so good across the golden gate bridge, bay bridge and san mateo bridge. we are just getting word of a high wind advisory at one of these bridges. we'll tell you where coming up.

thank you. when it comes to christmas gifts, a million-dollar check, it ranks up there with a better one. >> i don't think so. in this case, it was you, the california lottery. a man bought two tickets and he won a million dollars. he and his wife picked up the check on christmas eve. christmas eve sendoff for recovering sea lion in marin county. the marine mammal center released kiki on rodeo beach yesterday. as you can see, he couldn't wait to head into the water. workers rescued the sea lion near monterey bay last month. he was found to be lethargic, malnourished and suffering from apparent bite marks on his neck. the center helped him recover with about 6 pounds of herring daily. and puppies recovering from serious injuries -- he is recovering thanks to donations from strangers. about two weeks ago a 7-month- old siberian husky named shasta was hit by a car. her pelvis was broken in three

places and doctors told a bay area owners surgery could cost $5,000. well, they searched craigslist for a potential new owner who could afford that. instead, they found a woman named mary who helped them set up a fundraising site. >> one day it was at 720, the next morning it was at 1300. almost doubled. >> many strangers gave money. >> within four days the site racked up $3,300 enough for the surgery. the andersons are still trying to raise the other amount at giveforward.com. >> the dog is up and waddling and one of those call of the wild dogs. those huskies have a way of going, i love you, i love you, i love you. but nature calls and off they

go! a big boost for california's wine country. and why international investors are ready to buy american real estate. >> and we continue to track that deadly winter storm in the midwest and south. where tornadoes tore through homes. >> we're live in san leandro and 'tis the season for gifting, shopping, now it's returning. we'll talk to you about post- christmas sales and how early some of these stores are opening today. >> and speaking of returning, answer this: what did you get for the holidays that you wish you didn't? comment on facebook or twitter, or email us at mornings@cbs5.com. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

from napa grapes - to califa real estate. >> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald seems kind of nationalistic. >> it does. >> that was the specific request from china owners. >> from napa grapes to california real estate why china is suddenly buying

america. >> if you worked on christmas day, you're not alone. what you might notice at restaurants and retailers that's different from just a few years ago. >> and we have numerous showers outside right now. some of them heavy at times. when will the rain finally end? we'll let you know coming up. >> good morning. it's wednesday, december 26. i'm michelle griego. >> i'm brian hackney. frank is off today. the time is straight up 5:00. and a storm system that pelted much of the south and midwest with snow and strong winds is aiming for the northeast. >> the weather is already being blamed for three deaths including a man near houston who was in his public when a large tree fell on it. more than 100,000 homes and businesses lost power christmas day for at least a while across several southern states. >> my friend is out of electricity and heat so i come to get a propane exchange but then the lights went out before i could get checked out. >> reporter: mobile, alabama, and some other areas were hit by rare winter tornadoes which damaged or